Dominant Manchester City victory overshadowed by shameful reminder of football’s long road to tackling racism

Manchester City 5-0 Burnley: Phil Foden scored twice on a night that will be remembered for the wrong reasons

What on another day would be remembered as an authoritative Manchester City win over Burnley was instead overshadowed by a shameful reminder that, despite all the Premier League’s positive work regarding the Black Lives Matter movement, English football’s fight against racism is far from won.

Moments after players, staff and officials took the knee in solidarity with the protests since the killing of George Floyd, as has happened before kick-off across the top-flight since the beginning of Project Restart, a plane flew over the Etihad trailing a banner reading ‘White Lives Matter – Burnley’.

The plane circled overhead long enough for several players to spot it, only leaving after the first few minutes had been played. Raheem Sterling, who has led the movement against racism, prejudice and discrimination within English football, was watching from the substitutes’ bench.

Burnley quickly condemned the banner in a strongly-worded club statement and apologised to the Premier League, City and all those helping to promote the Black Lives Matter movement. “This, in no way, represents what Burnley Football Club stands for and we will work fully with the authorities to identify those responsible and take appropriate action,” the statement read.

The incident will go down as a deplorable episode in English football’s chequered history with race. Piara Power, from the Football Against Racism in Europe network, said the ‘White Lives Matter’ slogan was part of Europe’s wider “racist backlash”. “Set against the BLM message of equal rights ‘White Lives Matter’ can only be motivated by racism and a denial of equal rights,” Power told the Press Association.

‘White Lives Matter – Burnley’ banner is pictured flying over the Etihad (Getty)

Those events in the very first minutes would eclipse a dominant City victory, which means that Liverpool cannot be crowned Premier League champions against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night. This fixture decided the league title in 1960 as Burnley were crowned champions after a 2-1 win at Maine Road but the likelihood of a repeat result was always slim.

Phil Foden, following his late goal in last Wednesday’s win over Arsenal, scored twice and had a hand in two others as the defending Premier League champions and closest challengers to Liverpool ran out 5-0 winners. Riyad Mahrez – one of the few retained from the win over Arsenal – bagged a brace at the close of the first half, with his second coming from the penalty spot, while captain David Silva was also on the scoresheet. The only worry for City was an apparent injury to Sergio Aguero, who was felled for the penalty.

There was evidence of how the pandemic could exacerbate the financial disparities in Premier League in the team sheets. Whereas City’s strength in depth meant that Pep Guardiola felt able to make eight changes, Sean Dyche could not fill his substitutes’ bench. Due to a combination of injuries and uncertainty over contracts which are set to expire, Burnley had just seven players in reserve rather than the newly-permitted nine.

Phil Foden starred on the pitch for City (EPA)

City could be confident of victory from the moment Foden’s 22nd-minute breakthrough beat a helpless Nick Pope. The teenager found Pope’s bottom right-hand sweetly after taking aim from the edge of the penalty area. Gareth Southgate recently said Foden must earn more playing time under Guardiola before he can be considered for an international call-up, but the England manager will have been watching from home with interest.

Mahrez’s double came on the cusp of half-time. The first followed the type of mazy right-wing run that he has excelled with in an impressive second season at the Etihad, one which beat left-back Charlie Taylor all ends up before the winger’s composed finish. Ben Mee was then at fault, felling Aguero, with the spot-kick awarded by VAR. Aguero would likely have taken the kick had he stayed on, but Mahrez stepped up in his place to convert.

City’s lead was extended at the start of the second half by Silva, the only other outfield survivor from Wednesday. After Foden’s pass cut through Burnley’s lines, Bernardo Silva squared for his namesake to finish at close range. Foden then capped off his memorable week, arriving late at the back post with a finish that Pope’s boot could not prevent from running over the goal-line.

With the full time whistle, the Premier League’s first full round of Project Restart fixtures was complete. For the most part, the restart has been evidence of football’s power to cohere around strong and progressive social movements and causes, yet the defining image of its final game should remind us that there is no room for self-congratulation or complacency.